The Federal Government requires that all passenger vehicles sold in this country be equipped with safety belts and shoulder straps. Typically, automobile manufacturers have combined two units into a single integrated system consisting of a seat belt retractor mounted on the floor of the vehicle adjacent the front seat and a shoulder harness retractor mounted on the ceiling of the vehicle behind the front seat. The shoulder strap extends downwardly from the ceiling retractor through a guide, usually mounted adjacent the head rest at the top corner of the front seat, along the side of the back of the seat, and is fastened to the male tongue of the seat belt buckle. The seat belt which extends from the floor retractor is typically fastened to the same tongue. Thus, after the individual assumes a sitting position in the front seat of the vehicle, both the shoulder strap and seat belt may be properly positioned around the individual by merely drawing the belt buckle across the individual and inserting the tongue into the buckle located on the other side of the seated individual. However, shoulder harness arrangements of of this type can become an inconvenience when attempting to enter the rear seat of a two-door automobile. Specifically, the shoulder strap partially obstructs the entrance to the rear seat when the front seat is folded forward.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a seat belt control system which will alleviate this inconvenience. Generally speaking, the present invention accomplishes this be providing a mechanism which raises the shoulder strap out of the way of a rear seat entrant when the front seat is folded forward. More particularly, the mechanism utilized in the preferred embodiment comprises a pulley arrangement which mechanically multiplies the vertical component of movement of the bottom end of the back of the seat as it is folded forward and applies it to an extension arm which raises the shoulder strap to a point where the strap is closely adjacent and substantially parallel to the ceiling of the vehicle. When the front seat is returned to its normal position, the arm retracts, lowering the shoulder strap to its original position.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment in which reference is made to the following drawings.